Students party on Ezra Street for St. Patrick's Day 2017
Decked out in green, students took over Ezra Street for St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day celebrations took over the Ezra Street neighbourhood in Waterloo Friday, as an estimated 10-15 thousand people joined the giant street party.
What used to be smaller house parties less than a decade ago has grown into an all-out festival where thousands of students crowd onto the sidewalks and street or meander from student residence to student residence.
Ezra Street in Waterloo - thousands of students already celebrating St. Patrick's Day. <a href="https://t.co/eAix9zajoI">pic.twitter.com/eAix9zajoI</a>
—@CBCKW891
There was police presence, but mostly officers were there to keep students safe and discourage them from moving off private property with their alcohol – although that presented a challenge given the size of the crowd.
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There was a steady stream of students early in the afternoon and a police officer at the scene said by evening the crowd could grow to 15,000.